Scarves
by Fan Of Games
Summary: Poemi's weird remark had him wondering about it ever since she said it. His mind's on the idea, but he still can't comprehend it because it makes no sense. Emalf goes to Ivlis to ask the question concerning it, seeking an answer as to why Ivlis has a weak point for scarves.


Every three days he thought of her and every four days he thought of karaoke. Each day he worked he would either ponder on how to make Yosafire happy and accept him, or think about the songs he would sing while spending time at the local tavern in town. His mind wasn't occupied by anything serious, especially since his laid back attitude was perfectly fine at work and he honestly didn't have much to do with his spare time these days aside from acting as an adviser to Ivlis. The Devil of the Flame Underworld was certainly ruthless, always preparing plans for potential attacks on other worlds which were always rejected by GriRea, the Queen, after he was forced to swear a sense of fealty to her. Her constant disapproval always left him bitter, and soon he eventually gave up and had no choice but to administer the duties assigned to him—that being those involved with maintaining his underworld. Long story short, he only had to please the factions to be the Devil as they were still peeved he had defeated them all as was the custom here for recognition.

All of them were his enemies, save for the one he led here in town. They settled down just a short while ago as the several letters of begrudging agreement attested to, however reluctant the faction leaders were in writing and signing them. That left a rather large gap from now until when they would become unruly once again, but for now nobody had to really do anything important. It was a good break from the national affairs of running an underworld this chaotic, so everyone used this time to just do anything. Emalf, for instance, spent some time with his own pursuits thinking about how to please the love of his life—she rejected him and hated him for helping Ivlis in the invasion of the Gray Garden—and his arsenal of songs. However, there was something odd on his mind which he couldn't understand regardless of putting it into context about his failed romance and karaoke by incorporating it into both which didn't work as the context of that was hard to get.

Poemi's remark that day had been...well, strange, for lack of a better word, and he couldn't understand why that was. It was just so weird. _"Oh, and Daddy's weak point is scarves,"_ she said a few weeks after the failed invasion of the Gray Garden during a conversation they both had about how to win a girl's heart. The things Rieta had been telling this girl…Emalf didn't want to know.

But that comment seemed to bother him in a way, and not like an irritable itch that needed to be scratched away. It was more like an odd mark that came across as incomprehensible in terms of context, and that was exactly why he had entered the throne room to speak with Ivlis about it to possibly acquire some kind of clarification that might—hopefully—solve that riddle to satisfy his curiosity. He had already ambled across the hall, hands in his jeans' pockets as he spoke up. "Sir?"

The Devil was seated on his throne resting an elbow against on one of its arms, his head in the hand connected to that arm as he observed his loyal servant through a bland stare. "Hm? Emalf? You have need of something from me?" he inquired, wondering what the demon wanted.

"I have a question for you, sir, something that's been on my mind for quite a while now."

"Oh?" Ivlis responded in a rather lackluster tone which encouraged Emalf to proceed.

"I need to put some context out there so you can understand the point," he explained briefly. "I was having a conversation with Poemi about romance after the failed invasion as I was thinking about that girl from the Gray Garden. You do remember her, right?"

"Yes, what of her? You wish to kidnap her for yourself, Emalf?"

"That would garner more trouble from that world since that would be my fault which would be projected out onto the rest of our underworld," Emalf pointed out to negate that idea. "I was in fact thinking about how I could gain her love, true, and that's when your daughter came over. We talked a bit about romance and all, just the basics along with some of the stuff Rieta's been filling her head with." This last allusion to the demon who was turned into a Djinn by Reficul garnered a somber look from Poemi, who'd been playing with some of her toys in the throne room. Apparently she still missed her, yet Ivlis' mind was more on what sort of education Rieta had been giving his daughter. He cast a suspicious glare at Poemi, his disapproval of whatever she taught her becoming a topic he would sternly chide Rieta for if they ever managed to find her—not that he cared.

"Go on," he murmured, gesturing for Emalf to continue while making eye contact with him once more. "Why are you informing me of something I already know about you, Emalf?"

"That's the context of the conversation we were having," the demon ended the explanation and went right ahead to giving Ivlis the answer he sought for a possible answer of his own. "Then Poemi suddenly said something that came out of the blue from left field when we were at the point about what a girl's weak point is. She had already told me Rieta's was you." Ivlis also disapproved of that as well since he harbored no romantic feelings about Rieta because she was a servant. "Yet the remark which caught me off guard and has confused me ever since she said it was that you've got a weak point for scarves." Silence fell over the throne room, blanketing them all.

Ivlis blinked once, then twice, and then he raised an eyebrow because for once he was quite confused as well. "Poemi said…" he paused, attempting to comprehend the comment his daughter made to Emalf. "I've got a weakness for scarves?" Evidently he too seemed baffled by the remark and turned to his daughter for additional clarification. "Some context, if you'd please, Poemi?"

"Oh, Rieta told me you were always so gentle when taking care of your scarves that you've grown to cheriesh them as one of your greataest treasures," she stated, mispronouncing two words with a smile on her face because she was remembering the time Rieta told her that. She was pretty upset about her becoming a Djinn with no clues as to her whereabouts, so Poemi could only search for solace in her memories of the older demon. They were her only source of happiness regarding Rieta, and she cherished those memories just like how she'd been told Ivlis cherished his scarves.

"I see…" Ivlis murmured softly, having understood the context much better now. "Poemi, I take great care of my mufflers because these are my wings. These two mufflers are the only ones Kaen has provided me with, and her instructions were to handle them with care; otherwise I'll not be able to fly without them. If I still had my true wings—damn Siralos to hell for ripping my wings asunder before casting me out of that blinding heaven—I wouldn't have these mufflers." He turned back to Emalf after giving Poemi the realistic answer which seemed to disappoint her slightly. "Is that a suitable answer to your inquiry, Emalf, or is there anything else you'd like to ask about it?"

"Just one more question now that you mention it," Emalf responded, satisfied that he finally found an answer to that question. "If you still had your wings, would you wear scarves anyway?"

Ivlis shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not; it's a matter of preference, really."

Emalf nodded and bowed to show his appreciation. "Sure, thanks for the answer."

…

 **So this is my speculation on why Ivlis seems to have a weak point for scarves. Emalf's certainly satisfied with the mystery finally being solved, and I really do think this might be a point in canon with the idea of Ivlis and his association with scarves as seen in Emalf's Love and Ivlis' Ambition—well, I believe alluded to somewhat is a better way of phrasing it. Also, speaking of these two cutscenes from the Bonus Room, I have actually made a couple changes to the dialogue so it could fit in more with Poemi's character and be punctually correct.**

 **The line of dialogue Poemi said in Emalf's Love about Ivlis' weakness for scarves was altered so she could refer to Ivlis as her father; I thought it made sense because at times she refers to him as such, but other times by a proper title on a first name basis. I went with the former since I thought it sounded better. The second 's' after Ivlis' name was removed as it wasn't needed since proper punctuation dictates that the apostrophe alone is sufficient for nouns and other words which already end in an 's'. That might just be a simple typo in the game itself that was accidently overlooked, so I followed proper punctuation in my fanfics.**

 **Also, I've included Kaen in the story too, if only as a passing reference. As she's the Witch of Fire, I figured she would likely be a resident of the Flame Underworld because of the elemental association with fire which is the main theme in Ivlis' Flame Underworld.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Gray Garden; it is owned by Mogeko.**


End file.
